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Australia Senate rejects carbon pollution reduction bill

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Australian Senate on Wednesday voted against legislation aimed at reducing carbon pollution. The Senate voted 41-33 against the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 and ten related bills that would have established a cap-and-trade system. The scheme, similar to the current European system, would have been implemented by July 2011 and aimed to increase emissions reductions from 5 percent to 15 percent by the year 2020. Detractors of the bills alleged that Australian consumers would face higher energy prices and that it would be meaningless for Australia to adopt a cap-and-trade system if the US does not also adopt one. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, backed by the Labor Party, had intended to present the carbon reduction scheme to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark, next week. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said that government will not pursue early parliamentary elections under Section 57 of the Australian Constitution and intends to re-submit the legislation a third time in February. Australia derives most of its electricity from coal and accounts for 1.5 percent of the world's CO2 emissions, but has the highest emissions per capita among developed nations. US President Barack Obama acknowledged in November that it is unlikely that the COP15 will produce a legally binding agreement addressing global climate change. Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman said that it is impractical to expect that a final, legally binding agreement could be negotiated in time for the summit. In early November, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon attempted to temper expectations for the climate change conference, saying that it might not result in a treaty. The meeting of world leaders is an effort to replace the controversial Kyoto Protocol that several nations, including the US, did not sign.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 03, 2009 (boomark / email).